Big 12 basketball continues on Tuesday night with a matchup between the #14 Iowa State Cyclones (18-5, 7-3 Big 12) and the Cincinnati Bearcats (15-8, 4-6 Big 12). Iowa State is coming off a strong home win over TCU, winning 71-59 and covering as 8.5-point favorites. Cincinnati just hung tough with #5 Houston, before ultimately losing at home 67-62, but covered as 5.5-point underdogs. This is the only meeting between these teams this season, and they did not play last year as Cincy was not part of the Big 12 yet. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 EST from Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, and can be found on ESPN2.
When the going gets tough, our NCAAB Picks get winning!
The Iowa State Cyclones have climbed all the way up to 14th in the AP Polls, and have been playing well in conference play as of late. The Big 12 has been the strongest conference this season, and Iowa State has made their mark by winning five of their last six. Their lone loss in the stretch came on the road to #18 Baylor by only two points, and they defeated two ranked opponents in the stretch, taking down #19 TCU and #7 Kansas. In their last game, they were led by forward Tre King with 15 points in a win over TCU.
Big Dimes From Big Rob. #Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/kFVNRXP3Ci
— Iowa State Men's Basketball (@CycloneMBB) February 11, 2024
The Cyclones are led in scoring by 6'4 junior guard Keshon Gilbert with 13.9 PPG, and he also adds 4.7 RPG and 4.2 APG. He has 24 points in the loss to Baylor, and is coming off a 13 point, seven assist game against TCU in a win. Tamin Lipsey is a 6'1 sophomore point guard adding 13.2 PPG, and puts up an impressive stat line with 5.6 APG, 5.0 RPG and 3.0 steals per game. Lipsey is tied for 2nd in the nation in steals. Their top shooter is 6'8 freshman Milan Momcilovic, he has made 45 threes on the year on 40.2% shooting from deep, while averaging 12.6 PPG. Curtis Jones offers another scoring option from the wing, the 6'4 senior adds 9.8 PPG from the perimeter.
Iowa State is currently ranked 9th overall according to KenPom. They are elite defensively where they rank 3rd in efficiency, while their offense ranks 45th in efficiency. They play at the 165th fastest tempo in all of college hoops. The Cyclones are currently proj ected to be a four seed in the NCAA Tournament according to Bracketology.
Injury Report: None listed that would impact the depth chart.